I truly am sorry to have to be in this position. I hope that it is, as it seems, limited to All4s and that MINI steps up at some point for those of you still in a bind. I am a huge fan of the history of the marque, but BMW has completely ruined the experience for me, and I'm done.

FWIW, the wholesale market for these cars is terrible... we 'lost' big bucks on the car; I saw the quotes from the wholesalers bidding on it and it lost ~30% in 18 months. Luckily, I negotiated $14k off the truck, and got the WRX at invoice out the door (including taxes/fees) so I feel redeemed.

I do wish my experience was mine alone, but observation leads me to believe this issue will either continue, or rear its' ugly head sooner than it ought. As for me, my wife likes the truck, which I had bought for me, so it looks like I might be "stuck" with the wrx.

Good luck all and hope from the bottom of my reserve tank that those who have laid down their hard earned dollars get what they were promised/should expect.

Cheers, and see you in the twisties,

Tad/
Sir Stirling

 

Yeah I sold mine this year due to the horrible clutch, among other issues. I thought the resale was total crap as well. While I liked the car overall, there are too many great vehicles out there to stress yourself out dealing with these problems. Drive something else, life is short.

 

The tsunami was the excuse for peeling window trim. Don't tell me they're going to pull the same card for the clutch too?!?!

 

I was told that by an owner, not anyone official, so maybe he was wrong but he seemed to know a lot about it. I don't know from my own knowledge, hence the 'scuttlebutt' disclaimer.

Whether or not that is the case, the fact is that the clutches are flawed and need to be recalled and replaced with something better. Are people reporting the problems to the consumer safety channels? Sure hope so. It takes a lot of complaints to get attention these days.

 

My parents like my R53 so much, they are considering a CM ALL4 (auto). Should I steer them away? They are in their 60s so they do tend to see cars differently than I do. They'd be replacing an 08 Rav4 4wd (4 cylinder).

 

If they're getting an auto then no. The clutch is the thing generating the most negative press.

Other than the fact I hate the clutch, there have been zero problems with my car.

 

I've read the auto is a tragic disaster, but to a pair of 60+ people, is that a concern?

 

I only know from my own experience of buying a Ford Focus the very first year it debuted in America, is that a new model car can be riddled with problems. It was such a traumatic experience trying to keep that Focus running for 12 years, only to find out that parts are mostly plastic and are destined to fail during normal driving - and that Ford addressed these problems in later-year models after learning from the initial release (my car).

I decided when buying my first MINI that I would stick with the base model hardtop - the oldest version MINI sells. I figured it was the safest route to take.

 

why didn't you lemon it out?

 

You guys are getting me worried. I just got my mom a 2010 MCS as she wanted another MINI. We had the first 02s out and had problems with them. My Cooper 5 spd had suspension problems and mom's CVT had tranny problems. I traded my Cooper for a MCS and that was fairly trouble free except for leaking coolant tanks. The CVT was returned.

Fast forward to 2012 and mom wanted another MINI and I get her the MCS. She's an 82 year old lady and has a hard time adjusting to new cars. So, I'm planning on getting a CMS so when her car goes in for servicing, she should be able to drive the CMS since the controls/gauges are the same. I would give my sister my RX330 which has been relatively trouble free.

I've been looking at new CMS' and it seems the best deal is to get a CPO 2012 CMS as I would have an additional 2 years of warranty. Would/could a buyback be placed under the MINI Next program?

 

Yup. I bought one of those too. 3 months old and dumped it.

 

That's been my experience. The manual CMS is OK. The problem is the ALL4 system works too well for our little engines and the clutch works too poorly to manage the transfer. In the CMS you can push a little too much torque to the wheels, and they'll slip. In the ALL4 the engine bogs down or stalls. This week I had the bizarre behavior of the clutch grabbing and releasing in a kind of jerky stutter. I reported it, but my dealer has never reproduced any clutch complaint on the car, so time marches on...

 

This thread is about a Countryman All4 with manual that has gone through two clutches in 18,000 miles with a potential 3k ticket each time. I got a little confused over what you and your Mom and your Sister are driving but it sounds like you have a Cooper hatchback as does Mom but with automatic (unless Mom is still shifting at 82 years old - Go Mom!!).
Since neither is a Countryman All4 with manual, you and Mom should have some happy and fun motoring ahead of you without worrying about the weak and expensive clutch in the Countryman All4.

 

Hey George, what dealer do you go to in the Bay Area? I'm thinking of going to MINI of SF and having them drive my car up a steep street with traffic just for fun. I did not buy it there so I don't know if they would entertain it.

 

Please also repost this in Smelly Clutch thread. we are having problems with our 2nd clutch and MINI said there is no problem. Does anyone have names or numbers of high up execs. I think we need to bombard them with complaints!

 

We have a base CM with automatic. The best vehicle I have owned in a really long time. Not a single issue with it since we took delivery right now 21k. From what I have read the ALL4 is where many of the problems lie. Back in the 90's I worked for MB and they too had problems with their 4 wheel drive. Would I get another CM??? You bet I would.

 

since I have been lusting after a very nice and tricked out 2011 CMS All4 Manual with 41K on it to replace my old but still tight and reliable 2002 WRX Wagon Manual...still on it's original clutch btw! This thread has put the brakes on that idea...full stop!

 

i have a love-hate feeling with this forum. i love the information that i get from the forum like i learned about the thermostat recall before i was even notified by the dealer and lots of pre-ordering tips...yet, everytime i read the forum i become sensitized to everything that makes a noise or just doesn't feel right with my CM...like i am constantly looking for something that may or may not be there. i try to read the forum only occassionally now otherwise i don't think i could enjoy the CMs as much as i should.

 

ALL4 S Automatic bought it in August and have about 10,000 miles on her. Just drove to and from Charleston, WV (mountains) from NYC area - and she's been absolutley great.

I'm sorry for those of you who've had such troubles.

 

Did not lemon because Oregon lemon law refers to the time period out of service as being for warranty items; as MINI persists in claiming this is not a warranty repair, my time out of service is less than a month. If included, suspect vehicle has been out of service ~45 days in <18 months.

Busy between holidays and new biz but will check in as time allows. Best luck to those with one, but I must continue to recommend against this brand, and specifically this (all4) vehicle to all parties interested.

Sir Stirling
-Tad

 

It's so sad seeing people having bad experiences with MINI when I've had such great experiences. I wish I could help. If this is a systematic issue I'm confident they will address it, hopefully before any class action actually forces them to do so.

 

I have only worked with MINI of Stevens Creek, and, while they've been very responsive at the local level, I haven't heard anything back about taking my concerns to a higher level. They now have two complaint cycles on the clutch logged, and both times they were unable to reproduce the problem. They did try, though.

Any of the dealers should be glad to have you approach their service department, as you may choose to continue having them place claims with MINI-USA for support, their main business. I don't have personal experience with MINI of SF, but my daughter takes here MC there and has received good response without problems.

Your idea of taking someone from MINI of SF out on the Streets of SF is a great one - have them demonstrate the proper technique with that clutch!

 

Sorry if this is a repeat, but here I go! If you didn't want a car riddled with problems why did you buy a first year car from a company that is known to have reliability issues? Remember 2007 with the first new R56? I understand the idea of wanting what's new, but it needs to be understood, with being first means you will be one of the companies on road, real life testers. I waited at least a year and so far no problems (knock on wood). The Benefit for me though is a new clutch is in the new ones and I have not banged on MINIs door for 2 new clutches yet. I have a feeling it will fail within the warranty period and if it does I will get the updated one for free with little problems hopefully.

Just my 2 cents...

 

I'm confused by your post. Are you suggesting that because we bought 2011 or 2012 Countryman All4 with manual transmissions, we shouldn't expect MINI to do the right thing and own up to the clutch problem and install the fix? Are you suggesting that we shouldn't complain because we should have expected a faulty clutch?

 

MINI should own up and fix the problem but there should not be big surprises when problems come up in first year cars. Clutches are difficult because there is a lot of user input to them that can lead to problems along with manufacturing problems. There is a break in period for a clutch, and there are right ways and wrong ways to use them. The dealers are using this information to try and swindle out of a warranty repair. Just playing devils advocate here but how many people have needed (I just don't know the numbers) 3 new clutches in less then 50k miles? If it is over 50% of all the CMS all4 then MINI needs to step up and fix it with upgraded parts like we are seeing on the 2013.

Secondly the CMS All4 is an entirely new platform for MINI it is going to take a few years and lots of customer miles to get it right. Hopefully MINI can fix the bad clutches with less headaches for its customers, and any other problems that occur with in a warranty or extended warranty period.

The Thread has gone away from Countryman and clutch issue and is spiraling to a blanket statement reading all MINIs are garbage. I disagree. My best friend has owned a R53 for 3 years (bought used), my dad bought a new R53 convertible in 2006, and I owned a R50 for many years all problem free. Even though my CMS All4 is in its infancy (4k miles) I see no problems even with the clutch.